Samsung, Hyundai Motor, and Others Kick Off Second Half Hiring Season... Expected to Be Similar or Slightly Reduced Compared to Previous Years

Samsung Open Recruitment, Hyundai Motor Metaverse Briefing
Samsung to Hire Around 10,000 Combined in First and Second Half
SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG Also Starting Full-Scale in September

Next month, major domestic conglomerates will begin their recruitment processes. Although the global economic downturn has contracted the job market, competition to secure future talent is fierce in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), batteries, and biotechnology.

According to business sources on the 28th, Samsung Group plans to conduct its regular recruitment process for new employees in the second half of the year in early next month. As in previous years, applications will be accepted through Samsung's recruitment website, Samsung Careers, followed by a job suitability test, Samsung Aptitude Test (GSAT), and interviews. The specific schedule has not yet been finalized.

Samsung is the only one among the four major conglomerates to maintain a regular recruitment system for new employees. The second half recruitment is expected to be conducted jointly by major affiliates such as Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Samsung SDI. This year, more than 10,000 people are expected to be hired combining both the first and second halves, similar to previous years. Samsung announced last May that it plans to hire 80,000 new employees over the next five years.

Additionally, Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, and Samsung SDI began recruiting foreign experienced professionals in the research and development (R&D) field from the 28th. Applications will be accepted on Samsung's recruitment website from that day until the 8th of next month. The process will then proceed with document screening, interviews, and health checkups.

SK Group's major affiliates are either preparing for or have started their second half recruitment. SK Innovation is currently establishing its recruitment plan, aiming to proceed with the recruitment process next month. SK Hynix will also soon conduct its second half rolling recruitment. While the scale of recruitment in the second half is planned to increase compared to the first half, there are also remarks that the annual total might be lower than last year. SK Telecom is accepting application documents for new employees in fields such as infrastructure, development, and services until August 30.

A job seeker writing a resume at the Busan Pukyong National University Job Fair.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Hyundai Motor Group conducts new graduate recruitment procedures on the first day of the last month of each quarter (March, June, September, December). The third quarter will be no exception, with recruitment scheduled for the 1st of next month. Hyundai Motor will accept applications for September new graduate regular recruitment for two weeks from the 1st to the 14th of next month on its official recruitment website. Recruitment will target a total of 26 job positions across six fields: research and development (R&D), design, production and manufacturing, business and planning, management support, and IT. During the recruitment period, Hyundai Motor plans to hold a job fair and a metaverse recruitment briefing session involving current employees and HR personnel. Kia will also start its second half recruitment next month. Kia conducts rolling recruitment by job every month in the first half and bulk recruitment by division in the second half.

LG Group plans to announce the recruitment schedules of its affiliates on the recruitment portal 'LG Careers' on the 28th. Recruitment will focus on AI, batteries, and automotive electronics and electrical devices. LG Electronics will hold a YouTube recruitment briefing session on the 30th. Starting early next month, it will tour major universities nationwide to hold second half recruitment fairs for university students. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been conducting both online and offline briefing sessions since the first half of this year.

LG Chem will hold an online recruitment briefing session via YouTube on the 31st and will soon announce recruitment notices. LG Energy Solution will recruit new employees in areas such as electric vehicle battery cell development, quality, production technology, sales, and marketing until the 9th of next month. Subsequently, recruitment procedures including aptitude tests, interviews, and internships will be conducted.

POSCO Group will begin second half recruitment by affiliate starting next month. POSCO will start its second half new graduate recruitment process on the 1st of next month, expecting to hire a similar number of employees as in previous years. POSCO Future M, a battery materials affiliate, plans to continue both regular and rolling recruitment. The number of POSCO Future M employees currently stands at around 2,800, having increased by nearly 30% over the past year.

Lotte Group conducts rolling recruitment by affiliate. Korea Seven was the first to start recruitment procedures on the 23rd. From next month, Lotte Homeshopping, Lotte Rental, and Lotte Global Logistics will proceed with recruitment processes. Offline recruitment events will also resume.

GS Group's affiliates, including GS Retail, GS Construction, GS Caltex, GS EPS, and GS E&R, are planning second half new graduate recruitment. The expected number of hires is around 1,000.

HD Hyundai Group hired about 1,000 new university graduates combining the second half of last year and the first half of this year. Next month, it will begin open recruitment for new employees in the second half. Hyundai Steel will maintain rolling recruitment in the second half, expected to hire about 300 people, similar to previous years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.